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The Living End burst onto the national scene with a taut, energetic brand of rockabilly-infused rock'n'roll with a punk energy and attitude that made everyone stand to attention.

To this day, ‘Prisoner Of Society' and ‘Second Solution' stand as two of the most powerful early-career breakthrough singles for any Aussie band. But somehow the Melburnian trio have managed to keep the standard high for the ensuing 21 years, with seven well-loved records and an always fiery live show ensuring they remain one of the country's most beloved rock bands.

The band are currently out on the road for a series of monstrous A Day On The Green shows, so we figured it's high time we dedicated a solid two hours to their formidable career thus far.

Gemma Pike presents The Living End J Files Thursday 1 March on Double J

Chapter 1

Misspent Youth

Chris Cheney and Scott Owen started playing music together in the early 1990s, as high school students in the Melbourne outer suburbs. As they approached the latter part of their teens, their taste – and, inherently, their influences – started to distil.

Listen to The Living End and you'll hear a melange of rock'n'roll and punk rock leaning influences. But this band wouldn't exist without the influence of rockabilly, and one band were a particular guiding light that set the band on the path they were to follow in the lead up to their early success.

“The Stray Cats are pretty much the band that made me do what I wanna do,” Cheney told Double J in 2016. “I was into music and I had started playing guitar already but up until I heard them I was playing Bon Jovi and other bands that should remain nameless.

“Hearing The Stray Cats for the first time was a life-changing event for me. They had everything that I liked in one band. All of a sudden, it was the punk rock influence, it was the amazing guitar playing that encompassed blues and jazz and rock'n'roll and country, all in one. With this fantastic image, this really cartoon-like stage presence.

“After I got their first record, Scott and I decided to form a band. Here we are all these years later, still playing. The song that really knocked me out on that record was 'Rumble In Brighton', which opened side two. It was a great thing turning the record over and hearing that intro blast out of the speakers.”

Owen, who was a keyboardist at the time, took up double bass. The band set out to do what those kinds of bands do, play their guts out as much as possible and hope that word would spread. But their initial aspirations were relatively modest.

“Before we got played on triple j, we were just a covers band, playing '50s songs. So, for us, airplay on triple j was kinda light years away, just never gonna happen.”

But being a traditional rockabilly – or even psychobilly, or punkabilly – band wasn't the end goal for The Living End. Chris Cheney, from the very start, always had a clever knack for pop melody.

“We were a band that came from a particular scene that was very stylistic and almost novelty, I think, the whole rockabilly thing,” Cheney told Zan Rowe on triple j in 2013. “For us, it was about writing quality tunes, we wanted to have songs that stood the test of time.”

Chapter 2

Growing Up (Falling Down)

To the casual observer, The Living End's breakthrough was swift. One minute they were nothing, the next, kids in schoolyards across the country were singing the chorus to ‘Prisoner Of Society' at any given opportunity.

Of course, ‘overnight success' is never really as swift as it sounds.

"A lot of years went into that overnight success," Owen tells Double J.

We just didn't ever think we would become one of those bands that would tour and have songs on the radio.

Chris Cheney - triple j, 2013

One of the biggest breaks for The Living End came in 1996, when they were handpicked to support pop-punk chart toppers Green Day on their massive sold out, six date Australian tour.

"Green Day had this three-piece charm and this goofy cartoon character thing that we loved," Owen says.

"It was animated and it was pretty powerful, energetic, aggressive and pretty ballsy music.

"We found out they were coming to Australia, bought tickets to see them play, and then thought 'Wouldn't it be great if we could join them on that tour?'."

“We didn't have management, or an agent, or anything at that point,” Cheney told Lindsay ‘The Doctor' McDougall on triple j in 2014.

“Wally from The Meanies was kinda helping us out a little bit. I'd ring him and he'd book us a gig with some nobody at the Gershwin Room or the Espy front bar.

“He sent this package off, he knew someone who could get it to them, thinking 'there's no chance in hell we're gonna get this tour' and sure enough, we did.

"When we spoke to Billie-Joe and Mike and Trey, they had actually received the package, listened to it themselves, and chose us as their support band for Australia on the merit that we didn't sound like all the other punk rock bands that had applied for the same job," Owen says.

"So that was quite flattering.

"It was amazing for us, we were able to hang out with guys we idolised, and were able to get a sneak peek at what it's like to tour at that level really early in the piece, and see guys having an absolute shitload of fun."

While it might not have been the silver bullet to shoot them to stardom, it certainly helped make the band visible to the greater Australian music industry.

“It really put The Living End on the map," Cheney said. "No one in Australia knew who we were and, all of a sudden, we were on this national tour. The whole music industry at that point was going 'who the hell is this support band?' it was a big factor in the beginnings of our career.”

‘Prisoner Of Society' was probably always going to be an anthem. It was catchy, it was defiant and it was performed with both outstanding proficiency and a taut, urgent energy.

“For us, this was the first song that was a great mix of our rockabilly roots yet with pop leanings and hooks,” Cheney told triple j. “That's what we always strived to be. One of those bands that wrote catchy pop songs but with the foundation of the rockabilly trio kinda thing that we had.”

‘Second Solution' didn't provoke quite the same widespread mania, but, in hindsight, that's probably a good thing. ‘Prisoner…' was a blazing, pre-packaged piece of light-anarchy and it struck a chord. ‘Second Solution' was just as anthemic, and arguably as outspoken, just subtler. Cheney's lyric was perhaps a little more thoughtful as he put himself in the shoes on someone staring down the barrel of possible about capital punishment.

Both songs took hold in a big way, with the ‘Second Solution / Prisoner Of Society' single remaining in the Australian charts for an unprecedented 69 weeks, including 47 weeks in the top 40 and over a month in the top five.

The band had hundreds of live shows under their belt by this stage, and once people realised they were such a frenetic and exciting force on the live stage, they turned out in droves.

“It was just so full on,” Cheney remembered. “I remember that we just toured. One thought that just stands out for me is having a sore throat. Because we just played and played and played and played.

“It was so exciting, because we just didn't ever think we would become one of those bands that would tour and have songs on the radio and all that. It was kind of a dream come true, I suppose.

“We sorta went from playing The Punters Club to 20 or 30 people to all of a sudden selling out a couple of nights at The Corner. It happened very fast. We worked our arses off, for sure.”

The success of those two big tracks was parlayed into The Living End's eponymous debut album, which had quickly become on the most anticipated debuts of the decade. It didn't disappoint, as it further showed the breadth of Cheney's songwriting skills and the dexterity of the band.

Looking back on the record today, it's easy to see why it's held up as a classic. A string of singles including the aforementioned ‘Prisoner Of Society and ‘Second Solution', as well as continued live favourites like ‘West End Riot', ‘All Torn Down' and ‘Save The Day'.

The record sold a bucket load, debuting at number one on the charts and staying in the top 50 for a staggering 63 weeks.

“Not bad for a rockabilly band from Glen Waverley,” Cheney reflected.

Chapter 3

We Want More

With success as immense as The Living End experienced so early in their career, it was never going to be easy to maintain that same level. Particularly for a rock band with such a unique appeal.

Pressure was on Cheney to deliver songs as vital and incisive as he did on the game-changing debut. The rockabilly schtick wouldn't carry them much further, and a carbon copy of ‘Prisoner Of Society' would lose its impact.

They rose to the occasion with Roll On, a formidable follow up album with a rollicking title track that – along with ‘Pictures In The Mirror' – kept the band on the radio. And then again with the immensely catchy ‘Who's Gonna Save Us?' from album number three, Modern Artillery.

Even though their fourth album State Of Emergency was their second most successful in terms of sales, it felt like the band again hit a new level with 2008's White Noise, thanks to its inescapable title track, featuring the band's most infectious chorus to date.

I was at the point where I didn't even want to be in the band, I was done and over it.

Chris Cheney - Double J, 2018

It turns out that it was a turning point for the band, as well. The immense success of State Of Emergency, along with a decade of almost non-stop touring, meant exhaustion had set in.

"I got to a point where I just got really burnt out and felt really exhausted for the first time," Cheney tells Double J.

"I started to doubt wanting to even keep doing it and wanting to be in a band. It was a horrifying idea to me, I couldn't believe I actually felt exhausted playing music. But we had just worked so hard.

"I had a tantrum and said, 'Alright, that's it. We're not gonna do anything for six months. Or more. Or ever again.' I was at the point where I didn't even want to be in the band, I was done and over it."

"You weren't really met with much resistance," Owen adds. "We were parents at this point too, it had to be done."

But the separation didn't take. After some much-needed rest, the band reactivated and made one of their strongest records.

"I think we just missed it. Or I felt like writing some songs. But we had a jam and it was great," Cheney remembers. "There was this renewed enthusiasm and it was exactly what needed to happen. It felt fresh and the passion was reignited.

"We decided we would make the White Noise record and it was great. It was a big album. We played huge shows after that, and I'm so thankful that we did it. We probably could have just limped along for another couple of years and really burnt out."

"It could be the secret to our longevity at that point," Owen says. "Having had that break at that point in time."

In a year dominated by Gabriella Cilmi, Sam Sparro, and omnipresent electro jams like The Presets' ‘My People' and The Potbelleez ‘Don't Hold Back', The Living End flew the flag for rock'n'roll in the charts. By the end of 2008, it was the year's tenth highest selling Australian song.

But that barely tells half the story. The song was a constant presence. Across both public and commercial radio, on TV, in shopping centres and doctor's surgeries and laundromats everywhere.

Its appeal wasn't merely commercial either. The Living End's peers were as laudatory as the public. ‘White Noise' was voted Song of the Year in the 2009 APRA Music Awards, beating out ‘Walking on a Dream' by Empire of the Sun.

The Living End continue to make records and their audience continue to love them. It's been a while since they released anything that hit with the same force as their biggest singles, but the band are so consistent that you wouldn't put it past them to drop a mid-career smash sometime soon.

Musical tastes change with time, and the writers from whom Cheney draws inspiration have changed a little as well. While he no doubt gets a thrill from the guitar work of Brian Setzer, he has new heroes.

In 2016, Cheney said that he considered Paul Kelly to be one of history's greatest songwriters. He's far from alone in that observation, but what's interesting is his admission to being a very, very late adopter of Kelly's work.

“To me, he is the benchmark as far as songwriters go. It just doesn't get any better. I see him up with Springsteen and Dylan, Lennon and McCartney - I see him as one of them. He's literally that good,” he told Double J.

“It took me some time to actually warm to him. I think, as a kid growing up, it was all a bit too Australian for my liking. At that point I was listening to a lot of '50s American rock'n'roll, so the fact that this guy was a local, I just wasn't that impressed by him.

"It wasn't until reading his book that I became a fan. As soon as I started delving into his songwriting, I was just floored completely.”

Everything that we dreamed has come true. I feel incredibly blessed that that's happened.

Chris Cheney - Double J, 2018

It's an influence that surely played a part in Cheney's writing for 2016's Shift, the band's most recent record.

While audiences were divided on its quality – it was certainly the band's biggest dive into ‘mature' MOR rock territory – it did show yet another side to a band who could have easily remained painted into a defiant punkabilly corner after their first success, but have never been afraid to change.

No matter what happens next, Cheney is incredibly thankful for just about everything that's happened with the band in the past 20-odd years.

"It blows my mind when I think about it," he says. "We wanted to make a career in music, write songs, play gigs. Everything that we dreamed has come true. I feel incredibly blessed that that's happened.

"We've worked our arses off, but you need luck as well. We've been incredibly fortunate to meet the right people at the right time, and here we are now, just having finished album number eight, and we're still fooling them."